Walkthrough:74. Unholy Matrimony
Can I make some Stronghold Crusader fan theory/story for a second? I do not see any evidence that the player of SHC is supposed to be the same "boy" as the main character of the original game. I say this because I like to think for this mission you are the wolf, you and your two most competent henchmen are outnumbered and out resourced by the evil arabian forces and you need to lead your oaf team mates to victory. Ok now for actually beating this. As stated you will face two Wazirs, 1 Emir, 1 Caliph and 1 Nizar. Your team mates are a rather mixed bag. The snake can actually manage a decent economy despite the strain of space. This is because he doesn't spend much though and his troops are rather weak. I like to send 10 crossbowmen and 1 fire balista to defend him. They do wonders against the onslaught of Arab. Swordsmen that will go his way (he doesn't fully complete his castle and doesn't allow access to a tower, you can fix that though. Darksydephil to your right is almost the complete opposite of the snake. He actually has power behind his attacks, he doesn't have the finese though nor the financial responsibility and can easily go 500k in debt... Ok last meme for this guide I promise. Seriously though the pig really doesn't have a good economy even if resources are plentiful. Still he is overall probably your most useful ally, he probably would lose 1 on 1 against any single one of your enemies though. Honestly maybe even the combined forces of both your allies against one of your enemies in a more plentiful map would still probably result in them losing. Good news is you have 7000 gold to start while all AI have 20,000. This should be plenty. I like to do 2 square towers, one in the closest right side passage and the left one I like to push as close to the enemy stone supplies as possible. Since they are arabian lords Crossbowmen tend to do wonders against the Arabian Swordsmen and to a lesser degree the Assassins. I also like to send 1 fire balista and 10 crossbowmen alongside shields (1 each in a vital spot) to protect your investments. For economy I use the pause glitch with apples, but you could probably do wheat for bread if you don't want to cheat and probably still do fine. There are small patches for iron, use them if you want. I like to deal with the three clowns in the bottom right first. While you have a lot of enemies they all share their resource space. Meaning draining them of money might not be such a bad idea. I recommend you start by putting around 15 regular archers right above the right side (on the top if that makes sense) to kill the stone workers of the enemies to deny them resources, this might mean your enemies send troops to try and deal with your archers but this further strains their money. Next (oh yeah put balistae in your towers) I use my Balistae to destroy the fire balistas of the Caliph. Once they are built you can use a Trebochet to destroy the towers closest to the stone of the Caliph like the infidel you are. Once they are destroyed you can build your own Stone place as close to the hill as possible and they should not be interrupted anymore. Once you get a stable economy start building your army (as always I like horse archers). I had pikemen at this stage but honestly you don't need it. I recommend focusing on ways to kill the rest of the Caliph's army. Also at this point order your allies to defend you (especially pig). This is so they could build their armies and do not waste their numbers/gold on fruitless attacks. Fund the pig a bit if you can too. But your army should be focused on killing your enemies numbers and since they are bleeding money they should struggle to replace. Do not expect to be successful on your first attack as Caliph and Wazir will probably burn your troops a bit and Nizar has high numbers/traps. DO NOT BE AFRAID TO RETREAT EITHER. Now keep replacing your numbers and keep up the pressure. if your numbers get low make them retreat then come back when they are high enough. Focus primarily on Caliph but do not be afraid to widdle down the other two clowns in the right. I wish they release more outfits without the ninja mask for Ibuki in SFV by the way. Why does she have one in a track suit? Once you feel Caliph is weak enough order your allies (more particularly the pig) to attack the Caliph.Snake might make his troops come back a few times because of the attacks of enemies. Quite honestly snake isn't as vital for victory but he is nice to have. If anything he can do his best caliph impression and burn stuff with slaves. Once you weaken Caliph long enough your allies (particularly pig) should be able to brute force his way into his castle and kill Caliph. It helps if you lowered Wazir and Nizar's archers too. Once he is dead a wise idea is to order pig and snake to defend you again. You should incorporate melee troops via the increased number of allowed troops since one opponent died. You can use the melee troops of your choice to make an opening in Wazir's castle and proceed to kill his dumb arse. Now I like to have Snake and Pig attack Nizar at this point. Use your increased number of troops since Wazir is dead to undig his moat after you got rid of his archers. Once the moat is gone Pig and Snake will send in troops to wreck Nazir. Have your missile units nearby to help shoot down the hidden assassins.If they fail use your melee troops. Once Nizar is dead, underneath the Caliph's castle area you can see a bottom center opening between the left and rightside enemies. I like to replenish my horse archer numbers but you can use any you want. Once you are confy... well first order your allies (both this time) to defend you so they build their numbers again. Now from this new opening I like to weaken the right most side of the Wazir. This Wazir tends to have the most money for some reason so he will refil fast. But keep reinforcing your attack force and keep his right side clear. Try to clear the Emir to the left of this Wazir too. Now I like to send laddermen (I use two but one will suffice). In the opening you made send them to set up on Wazir's castle. You can also use a siege tower but you have to make space for it by destroying stuff.Once the ladderman is set up protect him/them and order your allies to attack. Snake will be more willing to use the ladder, his spearmen should open the gatehouse and hopefully pig will kill Wazir. Emir should be self explanatory. Unlike Wingsofredemption's streams these guides do not cost 10 dollars an hour (see? I sneaked in one more meme).